Ate Gluten But I Feel Fine?

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So I was recently "half diagnosed" with celiacs. I say that because I only had a simple blood test done that suggested, with an elevated IgG test, that I have celiacs (I have not had any other tests). I've been doing my best with staying gluten free for the past couple of weeks. I have also been eating MOSTLY dairy free (I've had some cheese and yogurt on occasions). Last night, after a strong sugar craving, I gave in to eating some raw Pillsbury cookie dough which I knew contained wheat. The dough comes pre-cut for baking. I nibbled on the dough and waited to be punished. After a few hours I felt fine. I gave in to eating two more round balls of the dough. Again, hours passed and felt fine. Today I decided to test again because I was all too excited that I wasn't affected by eating cookies. I baked and ate 6 cookies from the same sugar cookie pre-made package in one sitting (I've been feeling very deprived for the last month since staying off of gluten =/). The only other thing I've had today was Ensure, which I drank an hour or two before and almost immediately got "the burps", but no serious pain or intense bloating. What could this mean? Has the gluten not kicked in yet? Or is it because the dough, I believe, is made with bleached flour. I read somewhere that some are able to tolerate bleached flour? Correct me if I'm wrong. Or maybe on top of celiacs I also have a soy and/or dairy allergy? I'm tempted to have some bread or other items I've been craving since the start of my new diet.

Some additional information: I've been feeling better since my gluten-free diet but I have also been eating mostly like a caveman, meaning mostly meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. Most days I feel just okay but have still been burping and passing gas much more often than I used to before 2 months ago when this all started and haven't felt 100%. I felt pain from bloating and gas the other day when I KNOW I had not touched gluten for that day or the days before. I had a taco salad with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, organic pinto beans, olives, ground turkey, and a small spoonful of Daisy sour cream. I checked the labels on everything and it was all safe from gluten. I felt fine that day until eating the taco salad and soon after I was suffering from bloating pain and slight nausea.

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You should get the other half of the testing done (biopsy) before messing around with going on and off, on and off, gluten.

Not unusual for someone who has been off only a short time to think that they are not having a gluten reaction. Also, a lot of people are on other medications which may muffle their ability to "feel" or notice subtle reactions in different body systems. And most importantly, many people who are celiac or gluten intolerant can go for years eating gluten and not be able to correlate their other health problems and symptoms with their gluten consumption.

The "sugar cravings" are more likely the body's way of saying it is low on either vitamins and minerals or another category of food, such as proteins or fats.

Bleaching flour does not affect the gluten content, and bleached wheat flour is not acceptable on a gluten free diet.

Soy and dairy reactions are common in celiac and gluten intolerance. Some times, after a while, and healing, the ability to consume dairy returns as long as it is in the form of low lactose, such as aged cheeses, yogurts, and sometimes butter and cream. This is because the part of the intestine which gets damaged by celiac also is the part which can digest dairy. Unfermented soy such as soy flours and proteins are frequent culprits. (fermented soy is in soy sauce, there are brands of Tamari soy sauce which do not have wheat, only soy).

If using canned beans, be sure to drain and rinse them very well, because the starch is difficult to digest. If one brand bothers you, try another. If using dried beans to cook with, be sure to check them well for stray grains, and to rinse them well before cooking.

Gluten reactions can be delayed by up to week. For myself I get digestive upset about 3 days later. If you have been feeling better gluten-free then that is a good indication that you need the diet. If you do decide you want to do more testing you need to go back on a regular gluten filled diet for at least a couple of months before you get more testing. Some doctors are moving away from demanding a biopsy for diagnosis since for many reasons the biopsy can be a false negative. This is especially the case if you have already gone gluten free. False positives on blood and biopsy are really pretty rare so if you have had positive blood work chances are good that you need the gluten free life.

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About a year after I was diagnosed, I chowed down on a huge slice of the warm, fresh-baked crusty loaf of bread I'd made for company... and NOTHING happened. I actually started thinking that perhaps I could "cheat" once a month or so... and started planning monthly treats. The next glutening was an accident and I barely made it to the bathroom 4 hours later. Fast forward years of being absolutely gluten free... you should go to the thread I posted last week (in the Coping section) titled "Holy Glutening." Not only would I not voluntarily cheat... I am being as careful as I was near the beginning... reading every label again because I do not EVER EVER EVER want to be that sick again.

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Celiac.com was founded in 1995 by Scott Adams, author of Cereal Killers, founder and publisher of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, and founder of The Gluten-Free Mall, who had a single goal for the site: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed and living a happy, healthy gluten-free life!